Machine for making envelopes



May 3, 1932. E. CONT] MACHINE FOR MAKING ENVELOPES '6 Sheets-Sheet 1' Filed July 1, 1930 May 3, 1932.

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MACHINE FOR MAKING ENVELOPES Filed July 1, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 E. CONTI 1,857,113

E. CONT] 1,857,113

MACHINE FOR MAKING ENVELOPES Filed July 1, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 www May 3, 1932.

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E. CONT! MACHINE FOR MAKING ENVELOPES Filed July 1, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 View U w Patented May 3, 1932 UNITED STATES PATE OFFICE EUGENE CONTI, OF-MT. VERNON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR r ALEXANDER HEBZ, or

\ -NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK Application filed. July 1,

I come apparent to persons skilled in the art as the. specification proceeds.

My machine is particularly useful in the -manufacture of envelopes or bags using the method disclosed in British Patent 203,264,

in which two bodies of sheet material are superp'osed, the bodies having lines of adhesive on and within the area of the superposed meeting faces of the bodies, the lines of adhesive dividing the bodies into sections having the dimensions of the bags. The bodies are thus caused to adhere along the lines of the adhesive, are then cut into individual bags. The bodies or webs of sheet material are fed'simultaneously over a pluralityof rolls at least one of which is adapted to apply the adhesive to at least one of the meeting .faces of the bodies or webs. The webs of sheet material may have a width equal to a multiple of the length of the bags and the bags may be provided with flaps by having one of the webs wider than the other. The layers of adhesive are conveniently disposed along transverse and longitudinal lines which permits the adhering webs to be cut longitudinally and transversely along the lines of adhesive into individualbags. The webs, of course, may be of any desired material that adapts itself to retaining adhesive, to passing over rollers and to being cut. The invention herein comprises refinement in the aboveprocess and apparatus.

the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters denote the same elements throughout and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view;

My invention will be best understood from.

1930.. Serial no. 4 5,077".

Figure 2 is an elevation view of one side of the machine;

,Figure 3 is an elevation view. of the other side of the machine;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1 Figure 5 is an end elevation;

Figure 6 is a detail, partly in section, of the cam mechanism and associated parts;

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail, partially in section, of the pasting roll and its associated elements;

Figure 8 is an end elevation of the elements shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of an envelope as produced from my machine;

11; igure 10 is a cross section of a pasting ro Figure 11 is a section on line 11-11 of Figure 4. I

In the drawings, I have indicated the frame of the machine generally at 11. Extending laterally from one side of said frame are two brackets, 12-12. J ournaled in the outer ends of these brackets is a main drive shaft 14, to which may be attached a drive pulley 16, which may be operated in any conventional manner, not shown. Mounted fixedly upon shaft 14 is a worm 18. A shaft 22 extends transversely of the frame 11 and is rotatably mounted therein and in a bracket 20. Upon this shaft 22 is mounted a gear 24, operatively connected with worm .18. A sprocket 26 is likewise mounted upon shaft 22, and its use will be indicated later.

Shaft 22 extends completely thru the frame work of the machine, and is journaled on the opposite side of the machine in a bracket 30. Mounted on shaft 22 are rollers 28, separated centrally by a cleft 28a- (see Fig. 1). Between bracket, 30 and the frame 11 is positioned a gear 32, fixed upon shaft 22. Gear 32 meshes with and drives another gear 34,,

which is mounted upon a shaft 36 extending transversely of and journaled in the frame above shaft 22. Mounted upon this shaft 36 and positioned to cooperate with rollers 28, are a pair of rollers 38, separated centrally v by a cleft 40, positioned above cleft 28a, the

use of which will be indicated later. Y

Gear 34 meshes with and drives a gear 42, which is fixedly mounted upon a transverse shaft 44. A rotary knife or cutter-blade 48 is mounted on and secured to the shaft 44 between and by means of collars 46 and 46a on opposite sides thereof. Cutter-blade 48 is held in contact with a complementary cuttermember 48a by a spring 50 which presses against collar 52 secured to the shaft 44. The member 48a is positioned in the cleft 40. and is secured to the end of one of the rollers 38.

A stub shaft 54, mounted in a bracket 55, carries a pinion 56 which meshes with and is driven by gear 32. I A gear 58 is likewise mounted upon shaft 54 and operatively connected to pinion 56, and serves to drive a cam mechanism, as will be later described.

Below stub shaft 54 and extending transversely of the framell is a shaft 60 journaled in said frame. Shaft 60 is driven by means of gear 60a secured to the end thereof and which meshes with a gear 60?), mounted upon and secured to the shaft 22. (See Figures 1 and Between the sides of the frame 11 and remote from the gear 60a is a gear 62a mounted upon and secured'to the shaft 60.

Shaft 60 carries a. roller 61 positioned between the sides of the frame 11. A bell-crank lever 64mounted upon and secured to a shaft 66, which extends transversely of and is j ournaled in the frame 11, carries at the end of one arm one end of a roller 68. The other end of the roller 68 is carried by one end of an arm 64a which is also secured to the shaft 66. The opposite arm of'bell-crank lever 64 is restrained by a spring 70 or other conventional means, thus tending to press roller 68 against roller 61, and to maintain gear 6811 which is operatively connected to roller 68 in mesh with gear 62a mountedoncshaft 60 and operatively connected with roller 61.

A receptacle 72 for adhesive is supported in the lower part of the frame 11. A roller .74 rotatable upon shaft 74a, which is journaled in the sides of frame 11, dips into this receptacle On one end of the shaft 74 is secured an arm 76. Between the sides of the frame 11 and adjacent each side are arms 76a secured to the shaft 74a. roller 78 is journaled opposite ends of the arms 76a. The relative diameters of rollers74 and 7 8 are such that both are continuously in contact with one another. These rollers are operatively connected through gear 7 8a attached to roller 78, and gear 74a attached to roller 74. A'spring 80. or other conventional means, serves to pull the lower end of said lever 76 in such a manner that roller 78 will tend to press continuously against roller 68. J ournaled in the ends of adjustable brackets 826 within the receptacle 72 is a small roller 82, which serves as a wiper, to remove any excess of adhesive from the feed roller 74. Roller 82 is rotated by means of gear 82a attached to one end thereof, which in turn cylindrical body 84. Extending around the circumference of the body are flange-like proections 86, of uniform radius. Extending longitudinally area plurality of ribs 88,

whose height is the same as that of radial projections 86. These projections are placed in pairs, each rib being slightly spaced from its associated member. It will'be seen by reference to Figure 4 that roller 68 tends to press against roller 61, and that roller 78 in .turn presses against roller 68. The contact of roller 68 with both of the other rollers will, of course, be solely through the ribs or proj ections previouslydescribed. It will be seen that, when the machine is in operation, an adhesive, in the receptacle 72, will be spread upon roller 74, transferred toroller 78, and will then bespread evenly and uniformly upon the projecting flanges of roller 68.

In one end of the frame 11, a shaft 90 is rotatably mounted. This shaft is adapted to hold a roll 92 of material, which, for convenience, shall be called paper. A similar roll 94 is likewise rotatably mounted upon shaft 96, at the opposite end of the frame. Arms 98 extend upwardly'a short distance from op- .posite sides of the frame; and to these are attached rods 100, to which in turn. are pivotally fixed plates 102. These plates, acting in conjunction with weights 104, act as a brake or drag to prevent too rapid an unrolling of the material from rolls 92 and 94. In operation, material from roll 92 will be led centrallyrof the machine, and passed between rollers 61 and 68. It will be seen that at this point adhesive will be applied to one face of the material, at the points where roller 68 would normally contact with'roller 61.

From here, the sheet of material 106 is led upward and around roller28, where it meets a sheet 108 coming-from roller 94. The adhesive on sheet 106 will cause it to adhere to sheet 108. thus forming theblank from which the completed envelopes are cut. These sheets pass together around roll 28, between this and rollers 38. At this point a longitudinal cut is made in the pasted material by 5 118, where it is subjected to a second and.

transverse cutting operation, about to be described. Between roller 112and guard 118 v the material passes over a member 116a extending transversely of the material and adjustably mounted in aslot 116?) in the base plate 116. The member 116a is pressed upward by springs 1160 (see Figure 11) and is limited in its upward movement by shoulders 116d on securing, members 1166. Member 116a assists in keeping the transverse strips of adhesive in correct position during. the cutting operation to be described hereinafter. The securing members 1166 threadedly engage the base plate 116. The height of the member 116a may thus be adjusted by means of the securing members 1166. 7

Gear 58 drives a pinion 120 which is fixed upon a shaft 122 journaled in frame 11. This shaft extends across the machine and at thef 5 opposite side is located the cam mechanism shown in detail in Figure 6.

This cam mechanism-comprises three cams, 124, 126 and 128. The first of these, to wit:

124, controls a keeper or work-holding mechanism 152, the second, to wit: 126, a work-advancing mechanism 166, and the third, to wit 128, together with a complementary cam 128a (see Fig. 5) at the opposite side of the frame, controls a knife 140. A roller 130 engages cam surface 128, and a roller 130a engages cam surface 128a, and serve to reciprocate a plate 132 and a plate 132a which move bars 134 and 134a respectively. (See Figure 5.) These bars are mounted in vertical grooves on r opposite sides of the frame. At the upper.

end of the members are cars 1136 and 1361; to which is secured a transverse rod 136. 'To this transverse rod at 138 and 138a is pivoted a cutter-knife holder 138?) by means of angular projections at the endsthereof. Se-

cured to cutter-knife holder 138?) is a cutterknife 140. The cutter-knife 140has attached thereto at the edge thereof and out of the path of the material a positioning member 140a which is adapted to contact and slide upon a portion 1405 of the frame 11. A spring 142 attached to an am 142:; on the knife holding member 138?) serves to press cutter-knife positioning member 140a against the surface 1406 and thus to Hold cutter-knife 140 in proper position-with respect to the operative edge of the machine bed 144.- During operation, as the. cams 128 and 128a rotate, it will be seen that the knife blade 140 is reciprocated, and will periodically descend upon the strip of material which is being fed thereto, thus completing the formation of the envelope by cutting the envelope from the'continuous strip of material. It will be seen from the de- 35 scription herein of the roller 68 that in form- -through one side of 'the frame 11. To the upon the'shaft 171.

ingan envelope pasted on three sides, the knife 140 will sever the paper between transverse strips'of adhesive applied by adjacent ribs 88. Two upright edges and the bottom edge of the envelope are pasted together, leavin the upper edge open.

barn 124 is engaged by a roller 146, and thus operates arm 148which is secured to a shaft 148a -journaled in and extending other end of shaft 148a and inside of frame 11 is secured one end of a U-shaped member 152, as shown at 152a. The opposite end of U-shaped member 152 ispivoted at the opposite inner side of frame 11,.as shown at 152?). U-shaped member 152 carries a rubber cushion 154 which is adapted to press smoothly against the top surface of bed-plate 144. Cam 124 and cams 128 and 128a are so related radially that element 154 is lowered 5 slightly before, and raised slightly after, the

' operatlon of the knife 140. (See Figure 2).

This intermittent operation will tend to immobilize the material duringthe actual cut ting period. Since the intermittent feed thus resulting isnot duplicated in the parts of the machinepreviously described, there will be a periodic tendency of the material to bunch up between the holder 154 and roller 112. Guard 118 serves to prevent the material from coming into contact with brushes 166. f

I Cam126is engaged by a roller 156 ni'ountedupon a rocker arm 158, secured to a shaft 160 journaled in and extending transversely of the frame 11. The rocker arm 158 has an upwardly extending arm 162. At the opposite end of shaft 160 and positioned outside of the frame is a. complementary arm 162a.

J ournaled in the ends of arms 162 and 162a is a shaft 164 upon which is mounted a plurality of spaced brushes 166.

I On the outer end of cam shaft 122 is fixedly mounted a gear 168. This gear engages with, and drives a gear 170, fixedly mounted This shaft extends through the machine, and on the opposite side, exterior of the frame 11, is fixedly .mounted a pinion 171a. This pinion meshes with a pinion 171b, mounted upon shaft 164, which carries brushes 166. The teeth of'these two pinions are sufficiently longthat the two will constantly mesh, regardless of the cam I action described which raises and lowers the shaft 164.

A plurality of apertures 172 are provided in the guard 118, each aperture being positioned beneath a brush 166 in order topermit the brush to operate within the aperture and to come in contact with the material passin g between the guard and the bed-plate 116. Spaced rollers 200, mounted upon shaft 171, I

operate within cut-out portion 201 in' bed- 116 and the guard 118. Rollers 200 cooperate with brushes 166 when lowered into contact with the opposite side of the material. .Rollers 200 and brushes 166 cooperate in advancing the material and in maintaining the joined parts in position.

The operation of the machine should now be clear. tached to pulley' 16. This serves to furnish the power for operation. The material from the roll 92 is threaded between rollers 61 and 68. At this point it receives the adhesive, strips of which are laid across the material by elements 88 and two adjacent continuous strips down the length of the material by elements 86. From here the material [106 is led over rollers 28, where the surface to which adhesive has been applied contacts with and is affixed to the web of material 108 which is being fed from roller 94.

The double layer then bends back over rolls 38, and is cut longitudinally between the longitudinal strips of adhesive by cutter 48 and cooperating cutter 48a. It then travels between rolls 38 and 112, is threaded between base plate 116 and guard 118, where it periodically and alternately is contacted by brushes 166 and cushion 154; being fed forward by said brushes and rollers 200 While the knife 140 is held in raised position by its cam mechanism, and remains stationary while held by cushion 154 during the time the knife is in motion and being cut at a point between the closely spaced transverse strips of adhesive which have been applied by the transverse projections 88 of roller 68. By raising and lowering member 116a, the knife 140 and the transverse strips may be'adjusted relative to each other so that the knife will descend between the transverse strips.

The completed product may appear as shown in Figure 9. The pasted end 174'is that resulting from the adhesive applied by projection 86; while the edges 176 result from the adhesive applied by projections 88. y

In the operation as described, I have assumed that the sheet .of material 106 would be exactly superimposed upon sheet 108. It is frequently desirable, however, to have these pass through the machine in a staggered relation with one another, in order that a free flap of material will appear at the open end of each envelope, or the roll of material 92 may be narrower than the roll of material 94. To secure this result, it is obviously only necessary to adjust the rolls of paper 92 and 94 in an axial direction, so that they will not completely overlap. How this may be done is illustrated in Figure 1. Shafts 90 and 96 are journaled in the frame 11 in such a manner that they are free to move axially. A

, collar 178 is mounted on one end of each shaft.

A suitable drive mechanismis attheir position being regulated by screws 186.

The outermost extremity of these fingers en- I I have shown the roller 84 provided with three' sets of transverse pasting projections, while in Figure 10 I have shown a roll provided with only one set. It is obvious that envelopes made with the latter roll will be broader, that is longer along the edge 174 (Figure 9), than those that were made with roller shown in'Figure 7. The length alongside 176 is, of course, regulated by the original width of the material on rolls 92 and 94, being a certain proportion of the width thereof depending upon the position of the projections 86. It is, of course, understood that the roll 68 may be made in any desired form so as to provide envelopes of any size and shape and is not limited to the production of two envelopes for each transverse portion of the-material.

While I have referred to the material on rolls 92 and 94 as paper, it is obvious that my machine is not limited to the use of'this material. While paper is perhaps the most obvious material to use, any flexible composition might be used, such, for example, as the transparent product known as cellophane. Fabric of suitable kinds might be used; or.rubber sheeting, etc. Again, the material on one roll might be different from that on the Y other. I might, for example, use a backing of paper, and a front of cellophane.

The nature of the adhesive used is also subject to variation. Pastes, glues, adhesives of the pyroxylin type, or latex cements are examples of what might be used, depending of course upon the type of material being used for the envelopes.

When different size envelopes are to be made, the operation of the cams must, 'of course, be regulated accordingly. To make this possible, it is necessary to vary the ratio of the driving gears in some suitable manner. I accomplish this as follows: Bracket 55, which bears the stub shaft 54, is rotatable about an axis coinciding with cam shaft'122. It can be fixed in any position by means of bolts 188 which register with slots 189. Gears of different sizes may be substituted in place of the one shown at 56; and, by rotating bracket 55, these may be made to mesh properly with gear 32. The speed of rotation of gear 56, and consequently of cam shaft 122, through gear 58, can therefore be varied at will, or as necessity directs. These ratios will be regulated, as before stated, by the way of example,

the prior art and size of the desired envelope, and will correspond or agree with thedimensions of the pasting roller 68.

Brushes 166 and rollers 200 are operated at a higher peripheral speed than thato'f-the material in order to absorb the bunched ma"- terial which occurs during the cutting operation. If this speed is sufiiciently changes in the speed of rotation of shaft 122, corresponding to different size envelopes, may be made without changing the speed of rotation of shafts 171 and 164. For instance I find that a peripheral speed for. rollers 290 and brushes 166 of three times that of the material is convenient. a

Cylinder 74 is rotated from shaft 22 by means of sprocket 26, a chain 190, and sprocket 192. Idler pulley 194 serves to hold this chain properly taut.

It is obvious that many details of mechan1- cal design may be, made without changing the inventive concept of my machine. All these are to be considered as included in my invention, which is not to be considered limited by the illustrative details herein .set forth by but is to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is: 1. In a'n'alpparatus for making "envelopes, means for continuously feeding a sheet of material to a pasting roller, means for applying strips of adhesive to one surface of the sheet,

meansfor continuously superimposing a second sheet upon the pasted surface of the first sheet, means for cutting said sheets adjacent the points of application of said adhesive,

. and means for immobilizing the sheetsadjacent said cutting means during the cutting operation." l 2. In an apparatus for making envelopes means for"continuously-feeding a sheet 0 material to a-pasting roller, means for aplying a succession of pairs of relatively narrow, slightly spaced strips of adhesive transversely of said material, means for contlnuously applying a second sheet of material to the pasted surface of the first sheet, means for cutting said sheets between the strips of each pair, and means for immobilizing the sheets adjacent said cuttlng means during the cutting operation. I

3. In an apparatus for making envelopes, means for continuously feedinga sheet of material to a pasting roller, means for applyin a succession 0 pairs of relat vely narrow s ightly spaced strips of adhesive transversely of said material, means for appl ng a pair of closely spaced strips long tu nal of said sheet, means for continuously applying a second sheet of material to the pasted surface of the first sheet, means for continuously cutting said sheets between the strips of said longitudinal pair,means for intermittently cutting said sheets between the high,

strips of each transverse pair, and means for immobilizing the sheets adjacent said intermittent cutting means during the cutting operation. p I

4. In an apparatus for making envelopes, means for feeding a sheet of material to a pasting roller, means for applying a succession of pairs of relatively narrow, slightly spaced strips of adhesive transversely of said material, means for applying a pair of closely spaced longitudinal strips approximately centrally of said sheet, means for applying asecond sheet of material to the pasted surface of" the first sheet, continuously operative means for cutting said sheets longitudinally between said strips of adhesive, intermittently operative means for cutting said sheets transversely, between the closely spaced strips of each pair, and means for adjusting said sheets transversely relative to each other.

5. In an apparatus for making envelopes, means for continuously feeding'a sheet of material to a pasting roller, means for applying a succession of pairs of relatively narrow, slightly spaced strips of adhesive transversely of said material, means for applying a pair of closely spaced longitudinal strips approximately centrally of said sheet, means for continuously applying asecond sheet of material to, the pasted surface of the first sheet, conmeans for continuously feeding a sheet 0 material .to a pasting roller, means for applying a succession of pairs .of relatively narrow, "slightly spaced strips of adhesive transversely of said material, means for ap-- plyinga pair of closely spaced longitudinal I strips approximately centrally of said sheet,

means for continuously applying a second sheet of material to the pasted surface of the first sheet, continuously operative means for cutting said sheets longitudinally between said longitudinal strips of adhesive means, for cutting said sheets transversely between said transverse strips of adhesive, and means for intermittently immobilizing a portion of the work during said last mentioned cutting operation. 4

7. In an apparatus for making envelopes,

means for feeding a sheet of material to a pasting roller, means ,for applying, paired strips of adhesive to one surface of said sheet, means for applying a second sheet to the pasted surface of said first sheet, means for regulating the de ee of overlap of said sheets, and means or cuttin the sheets between the individual strips 0 each'pair;

8. In an apparatus for making envelopes, a cutting knife, means for periodically reciprocating said knife, means for feeding the material being used to said knife, means for intermittently interrupting the action of a portion of said feeding means upon said ".work, and means for immobilizing a portion of the work during the reciprocation of said knife.-

9. In an apparatus for making envelopes,

means for feeding a sheet of material to a past-ing roller, means for applying a succession of pairs of relatively narrow, sli htly spaced strips of adhesive transversely 0 said material, means for applying a second sheet of materialto the pasted surface of the first sheet, means for cutting said sheets between the strips of each pair, and means for adjusting said strips relatively to said cutting means. v

10. In apparatus of the kind described, means for feeding a web, means for intermittently cutting said web, and means for adjusting said web with respect to said cut ting means longitudinally of said web.

11. In apparatus of the kind described, web feeding means, web tensioning means spaced from said web feeding means, and means for adjusting the length of web between said feeding means and said tensioning means.

12. In apparatus for making envelopes, means for feeding a web, means for apply ing adhesive to said web, means for applying a second web to the adhesive containing surface of said first web, and means for regulating the degree of overlap of said webs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification this 10th day of June, 1930.

EUGENE CONTI. 

